Thursday 29 July 2010 02.56 EDT
First published on Thursday 29 July 2010 02.56 EDT

The World Cup helped to attract more than 400,000 new subscribers to BSkyB's HD service in their most recent quarter, as the company's broadband operation reached profitability for the first time.

BSkyB, which also today announced a £150m deal with HBO and will launch Europe's first 3D TV channel on 1 October, reported that revenue rose 11% to £5.9bn for the year to 30 June. Operating profits rose 10% year on year to £855m.

BSkyB said that 30% of its 9.86m customer base now had Sky+HD and the 429,000 customers who signed up in the quarter represents a 47% increase over the same period last year. However, the BSkyB chief executive, Jeremy Darroch, admitted that the rapid growth in HD sign-ups will fall away.

"There will be a pause for breath," he said. "We have had three quarters on the bounce where we have had more than 400,000 new sign-ups and we have reached 30% penetration ahead of schedule."

In total BSkyB added 90,000 net new customers, keeping the company on track to hit its much-publicised target of 10m subscribers by the end of the year.

BSkyB said that 20% of customers now take a "triple play" package of TV, broadband and telephony services, a 36% year-on-year rise. Average revenue per user now stands at £508, up 9% year on year, with customer churn to rivals slightly up at 10.5%.

"High definition goes from strength to strength, with more than twice as many customers as a year ago," said Darroch. "Strong customer demand is increasingly reflected in our financial results, with double-digit growth in each of revenue, operating profit and cash flow. It has been a good year for Sky but we stay focused on the challenge ahead. The economic outlook remains uncertain and, against that backdrop, we'll pursue the consistent set of priorities that have served us well so far."

News Corporation last month indicated a desire to take control of the 61% of BSkyB it does not already own. But Darroch said that it was "business as usual" for the broadcaster at this stage.

"It is important to remember that there is no offer on the table," he said. "News Corp have to work through regulatory processes and then we will see if an [acceptable] offer is made." BSkyB has agreed to co-operate with News Corp in seeking clearances from the authorities but has rejected Rupert Murdoch's 700p per share cash proposal.

BSkyB saw advertising revenue increase by 4% year on year to £319m. In the three months to the end of June, the final quarter of BSkyB's financial year, TV ad revenues were up 18%.

The company said that programming costs were up 9% year on year to £1.9bn with sports costs accounting for two-thirds of the year-on-year increase. Marketing costs increased £211m to £1.12bn for the year. The cost of acquiring each new subscriber rose £31 year on year to £339.

The strong performance so far this year has led BSkyB to announce a further 10% increase in the full-year dividend.

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